Playoff Time: Deerfield-Windsor ready to defend home turf, Terrell Eagles embrace underdog road test

The brackets are set, the gloves are ready, and the playoffs begin Friday for Deerfield-Windsor and Terrell Academy.
The Knights enter the GIAA Class AAA postseason as the No. 5 seed, while the Eagles head into the tournament as the No. 11 seed.

Frederica Academy (17-5) of St. Simons Island earned the top seed and a first-round bye, joining No. 2 John Milledge (18-8), No. 3 Dominion Christian (22-5), and No. 4 Pinewood Christian (15-7) in the quarterfinal round.

As the No. 5 seed, Deerfield-Windsor will host Region 3-AAA rival Brookwood (9-17), the tournament’s No. 12 seed, in a best-of-three first-round series. The Knights handled the Warriors convincingly in two regular-season meetings, winning 11-1 and 9-0. But despite the early success, head coach Kyle Keen is warning his team not to take anything for granted.

“We cannot look ahead,” Keen said Tuesday morning. “We have to focus on the task right in front of us and take one pitch at a time. I think anybody can win this year. The top half of the bracket all have similar records, and teams in the bottom half have shown they’re capable of beating good teams. It will come down to who can handle the pressure and execute the little things in each round.”

Game one and two will be played Friday at 4 p.m. at Addison Field on the Deerfield-Windsor campus. If a third game is needed, the “if” game will be played Saturday at 4 p.m. Should the Knights advance, they would travel to face No. 2 John Milledge in the quarterfinals.

Terrell Academy, meanwhile, will travel to Monticello to face Piedmont Academy (12-11) in a tough road matchup.

“Piedmont has historically been a strong program,” said Terrell Academy head coach Ashley Walker. “Their resume doesn’t go unnoticed. We have to compete in all phases of the game. If we can do that, I like our chances.”

The Eagles will open the series with a Friday doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. A third game, if needed, would be played Saturday.

“It’s playoff time, and anything can happen,” Walker added. “We’re staying the course, establishing a game plan, and practicing to execute that plan to the best of our ability. I’m telling the guys to stay focused on what we do well and improve on the things we’ve struggled with lately.”

If the Eagles win their opening-round series, they’ll move on to face No. 3 Dominion Christian in the quarterfinals.